Packing Bike for Touring

[kellysbeemer]

Hi all,

I'd love to hear how you pack your bikes for touring. Do you use dry bags, panniers and top bag only, how do you pack your tent, poles etc., what style and brand of bags are good if you do use an extra one, how do you tie things down, tips on packing clothing etc. etc.

Maybe there will be a discussion on this at the rally but I need to get there first.

Thanks in advance!
Kelly

[Newstar]

Read through the Touring Tips section. Touring Tips
Lots of good info there. Also, pack a trach bag or two along with a few zip loc bags. They come in handy!

We pack mostly in our saddle bags. I have a tail bag that I'll take along on an extended trip and pack rain gear there.. We reserve the trunk for electronics, my purse, and anything we need easy access to.

As this is our first year camping, we made a trial run a few weekends ago just for an over night. We packed the tent, sleeping bags, and kermit chairs strapped to the back seat. For our extended trip, we will pack the same way with Ortlieb dry bags. Your local EMS or REI store will have suitable dry bags and also ROK straps. We prefer them over regular bungies.

Hope this helps.

[alabeemer]

+1 on the ROC straps! Also plan...plan..plan. Layout all the stuff you think you will need in the floor. Then go through and get rid of all you don't really need. Once you sake it all down to what needs to be packed, make a plan as to where you will pack it. This goes in this bag...that goes in here, etc. It is really a hassle to try and find something you know you packed but can't remember WHERE you packed it!

Last, make sure it is all strapped on tight and right. Meaning make sure all your lights are unobstructed and you and your passenger if you have one are comfortable once seated on the bike.

Make no mistake, packing for tent camping two up is a challenge but that is part of the fun. It is a process of finding out what works for you and your bike. Be safe, have and have fun with it!

[MANICMECHANIC]

To carry what Vance said just a bit further, set up camp in your back yard, with everything you think you'll need, clothes included. Then the next day break camp, pack the bike, and go for a ride for a few hours, returning home to a new camp. Check to see how your packing job withstood the trip. Correct as necessary.

[Polarbear]

Stuff it, don't roll it up all tidy. Stuffing the tent is so much easier. Poles first in the bag, fly second and the main body of the tent last. It comes out as you need it to go up. I carry my pegs in another bag. Buy a "light" hammer/hatchet kind of driving tool for the pegs. I bought stainless steel tent pegs and they are the toughest and drive into the hardest ground without bending. These pegs hard to find, but the rally usually has a vendor with/selling them. Expensive, yes, but no more pegs needed in this lifetime. You'll buy dozens of the wimpier pegs, as you camp through the years. They are mostly junk. "Seal Line" dry bags are one of the best, Ortlieb is another through Aerostitch Rider Wearhouse, Diluth,MN.. These make a great tailpack/rearseat bag. I still use bungies, but opinions vary all over the planet on how to tie down your load on a bike. BMW Dealers usually sell the tie down straps the new BMWs come in the crate from factory secured with. They are industrial tough straps and work really well, IF you can find a BMW Dealer that will give or sell them to you. Cheap usually. I've been using mine for years and they don't wear out...Happy Trails, "Polarbear"Randy

[kellysbeemer]

Great tips everyone! Thanks so much. I intend to check out the bags at aerostich, stuff the tent and have fun doing it. We are really looking forward to the trip to the Redmond rally and from there going south to Brookings, OR then north to Menlo, WA for the WA state rally. I can hardly contain myself!

[Visian]

http://www.bmwmoa.org/ridetour/camping/camp_packing and oldie but a goodie.

and rolling the tent is just as fast and more compact. it's a religious issue.

[AKBEEMER]

......rolling the tent is just as fast and more compact. it's a religious issue.

Blasphemer!!!! I know I can compress a stuffed tent to a far smaller size than a rolled tent. I sense the need for a crusade.

[mXarad]

The best reason to stuff the tent is so that the creases are different each time;
if you roll or fold it, the folds where the fabric is repeatedly flexed will fail.

Helen2Wheels sells a luggage system that is well thought out and not very
well made; but her tutorial on packing is valuable.

racerpartswholesale.com/downloads/HelenTwowheels.pdf

mXa

[Polarbear]

Have a few extra minutes, departing a rally? LOOK around and watch how others pack and put their tents away! Its a riot. lol. Some roll, some stuff and some others even throw theirs away, never to camp again if the weather was bad or the noise to much to handle. An education is out their, if one takes the time to watch and learn. Randy

[MANICMECHANIC]

And just a reminder for all you ladies, especially those coming to the rally for the first time - Stop in at the Biergarten and say Hi!. In fact, is there any chance of all you Ladies maybe getting together to do a shift slingin' suds?

[Holly]

I'll be there for the Forum Frenzy and beer slinging stint, plus whatever extra time I get to sample your GF beverages.

[Voni]

I'll be at the Forum Frenzy! Looking forward to it!

As to this:

Helen2Wheels sells a luggage system that is well thought out and not very
well made; but her tutorial on packing is valuable.

Helen's company was bought out from her so what is available now is no longer hers. My new bag is a RED Ortlieb. No worries about getting anything inside wet! So that's where my clothes and sleeping bag and pad are. That and our tent is strapped to the back seat with Helen straps. Paul carries tools and cooking gear.

My netbook is packed in a stocking hat in my side case along with more clothes and my heated jacket. The other side holds travel food and stuff. My tank bag has a playpus drink tube and various assorted stuff I may need to get at quickly.

A great list that you can personalize for packing is here:

http://micapeak.com/checklists/mclist.html

Don't forget your corkscrew for the wine!

Voni
sMiling

Voni
sMiling

[AKBEEMER]

I've found that on bikes with side loading luggage to place items you think you may need to retrieve while on short stops in the right case. This is the case that is uphill when the bike is on the side-stand and therefore much easier to access with side loaders. It's not as big an issue with top loading luggage.

[pffog]

I've found that on bikes with side loading luggage to place items you think you may need to retrieve while on short stops in the right case. This is the case that is uphill when the bike is on the side-stand and therefore much easier to access with side loaders......

Just don't park on a slope and give the cover a little nudge with your knee to latch it, as you watch it fall over in slow motion in the middle of main street.................